BEFORE May of last year, the mere mention of the name Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke was enough to cause people to shiver with fear. In his name, millions of dollars in extortion money was allegedly collected in and around the downtown Kingston business district.

At his command, allegedly, lives were snuffed out and violent jungle justice meted out to anyone found to have violated the “order” in his West Kingston enclave of Tivoli Gardens and even beyond.

His trial that was scheduled for September 12 in New York, USA, would have seen 12 of his former cohorts in his alleged gun and drug-running empire testifying that Coke himself had killed no fewer than a half-dozen men. The scheduled testimonies, along with Judge Robert P Patterson’s refusal to throw out the damaging wiretap evidence against him, led Coke to plead guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges rather than risking conviction at a trial and a possible life sentence.

But as brutal a person as Coke is said to be, he is also characterised as a loving father and son — a man who cares deeply about his family. Especially dear to Coke was his mother, Patricia ‘Patsy’ Halliburton, whom he sent a birthday card, letter and poem for her birthday from his jail cell in New York.

She never got it. The package arrived in Jamaica on August 22 the day after Halliburton died.

However, the Sunday Observer got an insight into the ‘tender’ side of the man who featured prominently on the list of the world’s most dangerous drug traffickers prior to his arrest in Jamaica in June of last year and his subsequent extradition to the US on drug and gun-trafficking charges. The postal package he sent his mother was shared with the newspaper last week by a Coke family member, and copies of the original poem and letter were given to this reporter.

In his letter, penned while he sat in his cell, secluded from other inmates — “under harsh conditions” as he put it in another letter pleading with Judge Patterson for leniency ahead of his December 8 sentencing — Coke’s thoughts seemed focused on his ailing 64-year-old mother, who had gone blind and lost a leg due to illness.

The baby-pink coloured card, sprinkled liberally with glitter and accented by a transparent ribbon on the left side, contains a handwritten message: “Happy birthday to my wonderful, loving and caring mother. You are very rare and one of a kind. You are very special; you are the best person in the world — you are the best mother in the world.”

Added Coke, “I will always cherish!!! your love, ma.”

“Happy birthday to my dear beloved mother. You are a champion!!! Love you forever. Fr: your loving son Mikey,” Coke also wrote.

Priya Levers, the legal consultant to Coke’s local legal team, told the Sunday Observer in reference to Coke’s correspondence: “This shows that he’s human too.”

In an interview with the Observer following his dramatic extradition Halliburton had bemoaned her son’s plight, expressing fear that she would never see him again.

But despite the possibility of the 42-year-old Coke being imprisoned for 23 years when he is sentenced in December, his letter to his mother, written before pleading guilty in court on August 31, was more optimistic.

Coke writes: “Also, I’m giving thanks and praises to the Almighty God for life, because with life we have hopes of seeing each other again in the near future.”

The letter is also replete with references to God: “To my dear beloved mother. I hope you are fine and in the best of health. I’m here staying strong and holding my faith, putting all my trust in the Almighty God, because with him in the vessel we shall smile at the storm that we are all going through.

“I’m writing you this letter to wish you a happy and prosperous birthday with long life, best of health and prosperity when it comes. I hope you will receive my letter before your birthday. I want you to make the best of your special day when it comes and give the Almighty God thanks and praises for blessing you to live to see one more year, regardless of what we are going through.”

The accused gangster continues with a plea for his mother’s prayers.

“I need you to keep on staying strong and to continue to pray for me, I’m staying strong for you and the rest of the family and I’m also praying for all of you. I don’t want you to worry yourself too much about me, just keep on praying and the Almighty God will take care of us and grant us the desires of our hearts and the requests of our lips.”

The former don, who is aligned to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which at one point tried to prevent his extradition, expresses sadness for his mother’s pain at his predicament and professes his abiding love for her.

“I know how much you love and care for me and that you miss me very much and that you are really hurting because of what I am going through, but with the help of the Almighty God, everything is going to be all right soon. We cannot change the past but we have to look for a brighter future. I know that there is no love like the love of a mother, that’s why I’m writing you this letter to let you know that I love you unconditionally and endlessly miss you very much. Words cannot describe or express the love I got for you,” Coke writes.

The former Shower Posse leader continues to pour out his heart, and repeatedly notes how much he appreciates his mother in the two-page letter.

“For the care that you give me from the day I was born until now, by letting you know that I love you world without end.”

“I love you, ma, and miss you very much, you are so special, precious and dear to my heart, and you are always in my… thoughts. Love you ma, forever, non-stop.”

As he concludes, Coke again extends birthday wishes to Halliburton.

“Happy birthday to my dear loving mother with long life, best of health and prosperity,” he writes, adding that the greeting was “coming from your loving son”.

Coke ends with another reference to God, noting: “May the richness of God’s blessing, His glory, and His love be with you and the rest of the family. Love you all!!! Love you my dear loving mother and it’s coming from the bottom of my heart and miss you very much. Love you ma.”

These were sentiments Halliburton would never hear from her son, although their commitment to each other is noted by others.

“She was dedicated to her son and he to her,” long-time family lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson told the Observer when news emerged of Halliburton’s death.